These chocolate peanut butter covered banana chunks with pistachios are an easy, decadent dessert or snack. It’s just right when you want something fruity and crunchy, and made from ingredients you probably have on hand. In just a few minutes, you can put together this frozen banana treat!
Why You Will Enjoy These
I chose peanut butter instead of coconut oil, as many recipes use, to help the melted chocolate chips be spreadable and add some plant-based protein.
MyPlate recommends to limit saturated fat, such as coconut oil, and instead, choose liquid oils. In fact, nuts fall into the protein food group, whereas coconut oil is considered a solid fat.
Sliced into chunks, these are easily shareable. They’re a quick treat that you can make before dinner, freeze, and then have for dessert!
Pistachios are a nutritious nut choice. They contain 5.8 grams of protein per ounce. They also contain about 3 grams of protein and 30 milligrams of calcium with 157 calories. Over half of the fat in pistachios is from monounsaturated fat and only about 1.5 grams of the fat is saturated. (source: University of Rochester Medical Center Health Encyclopedia)
I don’t think I even realized that I like pistachios until very recently – their crunch and green color are perfect for these tasty banana chunks.
Ingredients Needed
- A large banana
- Chocolate chips – look for vegan dark or semisweet chocolate
- Peanut butter: ideally natural, creamy is my preference.
- Lightly salted shelled pistachios – or with the shell, and shell them yourself.
How to Make Chocolate Peanut Butter Covered Banana Chunks with Pistachios
Peel a large, ripe banana and place it on a piece of parchment paper.
Melt the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl for 20 seconds. Remove them and stir well. Add the peanut butter and stir. Microwave for 10-20 more seconds as needed until the chocolate chips and peanut butter are blended and smooth.
Spread the chocolate-peanut butter mixture all over the banana with a rubber spatula.
Sprinkle the banana with the chopped pistachios. You may want to push them in to the banana slightly with your spatula.
Cut the banana into chunks o about 3/4 to 1 inch each. Pick these up with the parchment paper and freeze them for 10-15 minutes. I prefer not to freeze them all of the way through – just so the chocolate is nice and solid.
Remove from the freezer a little before you plan to eat them – 10-15 minutes is good.
If you feel like taking a little more time, you can toast the pistachios first for about 5 minutes on a baking sheet in the oven at 400 degrees F, and even add a little ground cinnamon and/or cardamom.
Variations
You can also make these with chopped pecans, walnuts, peanuts, or other nuts you enjoy. Or skip the nuts if you wish.
Top the banana with a little flaky salt crystals if you wish. This has been quite popular for recipes lately, but is not to my taste.
Storage
Place these in a covered freezer-safe container if you won’t be eating them soon after freezing. I recommend defrosting them a little before eating, but not so long that the bananas become mushy and the chocolate-peanut butter coating no longer sticks to them!
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Chocolate Peanut Butter Covered Banana Chunks with Pistachios
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Peel the banana and place it on a piece of parchment paper.
- Melt the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl for 20 seconds. Remove them and stir well. Add the peanut butter and stir. Microwave for 10-20 more seconds as needed until the chocolate chips and peanut butter are blended and smooth.
- Spread the chocolate-peanut butter mixture all over the banana with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle with the chopped pistachios.
- Cut the banana into chunks of about 3/4 to 1 inch. Pick these up with the parchment paper and freeze them for 10-15 minutes. Remove from the freezer a little before you plan to eat them – 10-15 minutes is good, but not a half hour or more to avoid having a mushy banana and the coating sliding off of it.
Nutrition
Notes
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!If you have tried these chocolate peanut butter covered banana chunks with pistachios, please let me know how you liked them and share your comments and a star rating in the comments below.
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